A Seat Partner
by ofherbookishways
Summary: The story of a young girl, recently moved from Tryllin, who finds herself to be seated than no other than Kaiden James himself. After an awkward first impression and the twists and struggles of primary school in general, what could be in store for 12 year old Jennifer? -This story is set before Kaiden enrolled at Akarnae-
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hey everyone, so this story is set in the time when Kaiden was in primary school, think about in year 6. You, recently moved from Tryllin to this place as your parents were offered new jobs. _

_I wanted to do a story that was set before he Kaiden was enrolled at Akarnae, to give a little insight on his junior primary years._

_I am not Lynette Noni._

_**A seat partner:**_

This town, I've moved here quite recently, just in time for the start of a new school year. I haven't acquainted myself with anyone around here, in the small time I've been in this area. School is coming up soon, I'm not exactly looking forward to it. I've…never had too many friends in my life, aside from a few close friends that eventually moved away. I'm especially awkward and not the most social person in the world. My parents often say how I should make new friends in this town when school starts. I'll try my best for them, but I can't guarantee anything. My nature just isn't great for that sort of thing. It's only been a week since I moved here, and now I'm getting ready for school.

The beginning of the year, the hardest time for me at school. No friends, no anything. Today, as I step into class, not many people are present, not even the teacher has arrived yet. "Ah, am I this early...?" I mumble to myself, quietly dusting the snow off my coat as I check the clock above the chalk board. I scan my eyes through the room, observing small details as I pace down the classroom and looking on the desks, I notice name tags.

_Oh great, a seating arrangement, _I think to myself as I search for my spot. _Aha, there it is! _

'Jennifer Miller'

I set my things down and then sit in my chair, resting my head on the table. The seats are arranged in two desk pairs, and on the desk beside me, I see the name 'Kaiden James.' I don't pay much mind to it. Slowly, as time passes, the chairs in the room begin to fill up, as does the one next to me. My seat partner just so happens to be a boy, he has dark brown hair, and an almost unamused expression on his face. His outfit is like a mini tan trench coat, and earmuffs are wrapped around his neck. As he begins to take off his jacket, a solid black turtle neck in revealed. _It's quite nerdy, _I think to myself.

He glances towards me before settling down. _Should I strike up a conversation? _The few friends I had from my old school were female, so I never really talked much with guys, but if one is my seat partner, then I suppose I have somewhat of no choice. Just as I'm about to muster up the courage to say something, the teacher enters the room and instructs all the children who are not seated to find their place. _So much for starting a conversation. _

As class starts, I readily pay attention to the board. The teacher, his name is 'Will Adkins'. He explains to us that we'll be doing a "get to know your seat partner better" thing for today, since it is the first day. This does shoot a jolt of anxiety up through my body. I'm not ready, not now. Why can't we just talk to each other of our own accord? Nearly every first day is like this, so why am I surprised? Almost immediately, the blonde boy next to me turns his head to look in my direction. Thus the activity begins.


	2. Author Note - Typo

Just a quick heads up regarding the last chapter. I made a mistake talking about a blonde boy. I meant to say brown – as in, referring to Kaiden. So sorry guys, I was writing this and publishing really late so my brain was technically fried.

In conclusion, I meant to say brown haired boy not blonde. :)


	3. Chapter 2

I can feel the piercing gaze from his large, almost impossibly blue eyes. As he looks at me, I begin to clam up. His look is rather welcoming, yet all seeing. It's almost like everything went silent for a moment while I tried to regain my composure.

When my seat partner spoke up, I instantly snapped back into reality. I could hear the chatter going on between other students in the room, each one solely focusing on their partner. It seems that mine is as well.

"Hey."

Those are the first words I hear from the brown-haired kid beside me. His voice was soothing to the ear, his expression now becoming warmer. I swallow trying to wet the dryness inside of my throat.

_What am I supposed to say?_

Perhaps the boy could feel my nervousness, as he continued with a new line of speech. "My name is Kaiden, are you are..?" I don't know why he's introducing himself, the nametags on our desk already spell out our names. I guess this makes it so that I have to respond.

"I'm Jennifer Lycan... nice to meet you." My eyes shift to the side, avoiding eye contact as I speak. I can't handle his stare, no matter how welcoming it may be, it only makes me nervous. As I look elsewhere, I notice that on the board, a few questions are listed that you can ask your partner.

_Do you have any pets?_

_Do you enjoy playing videogames?_

_Do you-_

Before I could finish reading the last suggestion, Kaiden speaks up beside me. "Do you like to read?" He asks, and before replying, I finish reading the board.

_Do you enjoy reading?_

Was he reading from the board as well? I look towards him, and smile ever so slightly. "Actually, I do." Reading is one of my interests. My parents always encouraged me to read, so they would buy me all sorts of books. My room at home could be confused as a library. If you stepped in there you may mix it up with an older individual's area, not that of a kid.

It seems that Kaiden was intrigued by the fact, as his follow up question was: "What books do you like to read?" I didn't even think about this one. "Superhero books!" I could feel myself growing less anxious. This topic is the one I relate to most, and I love to talk about it. "The way that one person can solve so many problems is amazing… I admire them…" It took me a few seconds to realize how I was gushing about such a childish topic to someone I don't even know. "Ah, um, I mean-"Great. Now this nervous feeling is coming back. I stare at Kaiden, awaiting his response to my foolishness.

Much to my surprise, he didn't seem to find any of my words funny or embarrassing at all. "I agree." Kaiden smiles, continuing, "You kind of remind me of someone else in this class…" He trails off for a moment, and I can see that he's about to continue, but the teacher interrupts once more. Apparently the activity is already over, and not even much was spoken about. Maybe we'll be moving on to some other sort of activity?

"Since this is the first day, I'll be generous and allow you to now get up and converse with other students in this class. You can't just talk to your seat partner forever, now can you?" The teacher gives an endearing smile and wink to the class and everyone rises, except for me. I don't know anyone and I don't want to get to know them.

I sat silently for a bit, and then felt a sudden tap on my shoulder. The person I was greeted with was not a familiar face, but a group of unknown people, all appearing to be boys. One of them does happen to be Kaiden. They must be his friends. "Hello!" A kid with somewhat messy auburn hair greeted, a wide smile apparent on his face. "My name is Sebastian," _Why is he talking to me? _"And her is Nick," He points to a well-groomed boy with a plain grey sweater and blinding bright yellow braces. Continuing, he pointed to a nerdy looking kid with glasses. His name being "Brendan." Lastly, signalling to a well-built, bulky kid, dubbing him as "Declan."

Kaiden stood next to Declan, hands tucked comfortably in the small front pocket of his jeans, not saying a word. "How come you're sitting here all alone?" The boy with braces asked, tilting his head. "Oh, I just don't, um… know anyone here." It seems it was not a viable response, seeing what he said next. "Well you talked to Kaiden here!" The boy, Declan, I think his name was said as he pats Kaiden on the back quite forcefully. "So I did." I'm a bit tired of this already. "I think we should give her some space." Kaiden finally says to the group and everyone looks towards him. Is he maybe their leader figure? With that, the group, including Kaiden walk towards an empty section of the classroom and begin chatting.

_I can hear them from here._ I didn't mean to listen in on them, but they were being so darn loud. "Kaiden, you seemed a bit relaxed earlier-" One of the boys said. This caused quite a reaction between the others for some reason. "You seemed to have her attention-" Another announced, stifling a laugh. I glance towards their group and it appears that everyone is gathered around Kaiden. "She likes books." He states, not changing a look on his face. Although it didn't seem it was that insignificant, the other boys began to howl. What is with these guys? "Wow a common interest!" The nerdy kid shouts, grinning.

What are they talking about? My face feels a bit warm, I think as I raise my my fingers to touch my face. They're coming to such conclusions based on one interaction? _What am I becoming flustered for? _I close my eyes quickly and shake my head. The bell has now rung and school has finally ended. Finally free. I grab my things and rush out the room, but a voice stops me. "Hey Jennifer!" I think it belongs to Sebastian. "Why don't you come hang out with us at the hideout today?" _Hideout? _That caught my interest slightly. "Oh… alright." I answered, not really giving myself any time to think. At the hearing of my answer, some boys snickered and the others just smiled. Kenya's face remained blank, like he was observing the others. _What a weird kid._


End file.
